Hew for yourself: Heb. פְּסָל לְ. He [God] showed him [Moses] a sapphire mine from within his tent, and He said to him, “The [sapphire] chips shall be yours,” and from there Moses became very wealthy. -[from Tanchuma 29, Lev. Rabbah 32:2]

Hew for yourself: You broke the first ones. You hew others for yourself. This can be compared to a king who went abroad and left his betrothed with the maidservants. Because of the immoral behavior of the maidservants, she acquired a bad reputation. Her bridesman [the person appointed to defend the bride should any problems arise] arose and tore up her marriage contract. He said, “If the king decides to kill her, I will say to him, ‘She is not yet your wife.’” The king investigated and discovered that only the maidservants were guilty of immoral behavior. He [therefore] became appeased to her. So her bridesman said to him, “Write her another marriage contract because the first one was torn up.” The king replied to him, “You tore it up. You buy yourself another [sheet of] paper, and I will write to her with my [personal] hand [writing].” Likewise, the king represents the Holy One, blessed is He. The maidservants represent the mixed multitude. The bridesman is Moses, and the betrothed of the Holy One, blessed is He, is Israel. That is why it says: “Hew for yourself.” -[from Tanchuma 30]

No one shall ascend with you: Since the first ones [i.e., tablets] were accompanied by loud noises, sounds, and with a multitude, the evil eye affected them. [Our conclusion is that] there is nothing better than modesty. -[from Tanchuma 30]

Lord, Lord: This is God's Attribute of Compassion. [It is repeated,] once for before the person sins, and once for after he sins and repents.

ה' ה': מדת הרחמים היא, אחת קודם שיחטא, ואחת אחר שיחטא וישוב:

God: Heb. אֵל. This too is an attribute of compassion [for God], and so he [the Psalmist] says: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:2). One cannot say to the Divine attribute of justice, “Why have You forsaken me?” I found this in the Mechilta (Exod. 15:2).

slow to anger: He puts off His anger and does not hasten to exact retribution, [hoping that] perhaps he [the sinner] will repent.

ארך אפים: מאריך אפו ואינו ממהר ליפרע, שמא יעשה תשובה:

and abundant in loving-kindness: for those who need loving-kindness because they lack sufficient merits. -[from R.H. 17a]

ורב חסד: לצריכים חסד, שאין להם זכיות כל כך:

and truth: to pay a good reward to those who do His will.

ואמת: לשלם שכר טוב לעושי רצונו:

7preserving loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin; yet He does not completely clear [of sin] He visits the iniquity of parents on children and children's children, to the third and fourth generations."

yet He does not completely clear [of sin]: Heb. וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה. According to its simple interpretation, it means that He does not completely overlook the iniquity but exacts retribution for it little by little. Our Rabbis, however, interpreted [this expression to mean]: He clears those who repent, but does not clear those who do not repent (from Yoma 86a, targumim).

He visits the iniquity of parents on the children: when they hold onto the deeds of their parents in their hands [i.e., emulate their ways], for He already explained this in another verse, [that it means only] “of those who hate Me” (Exod. 20:5). -[from Ber. 7a]

and fourth generations: Heb. וְעַל רִבֵּעִים, the fourth generation. Thus, the [i.e., God’s] attribute of goodness exceeds the attribute of retribution by a ratio of one to five hundred. Concerning the attribute of goodness, He says: “preserving loving-kindness for thousands.” -[from Tosefta, Sotah 4:1]

8And Moses hastened, bowed his head to the ground and prostrated himself,

חוַיְמַהֵ֖ר משֶׁ֑ה וַיִּקֹּ֥ד אַ֖רְצָה וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ:

And Moses hastened: When Moses saw the Shechinah passing [in front of him] and he heard the voice calling, he immediately prostrated himself.

וימהר משה: כשראה משה שכינה עוברת ושמע קול הקריאה, מיד וישתחו:

9and said: "If I have now found favor in Your eyes, O Lord, let the Lord go now in our midst [even] if they are a stiff necked people, and You shall forgive our iniquity and our sin and thus secure us as Your possession."

let the Lord go now in our midst: As You promised us, since You forgive iniquity. [Which means:] and if they are a stiff-necked people, and they rebelled against You, and You have said concerning this, “Lest I destroy you on the way” (Exod. 33:3), You [still] will forgive our iniquity, etc. There are [other instances where] כִּי [is used] instead of אִם if.

and thus secure us as Your possession: And You shall give us to Yourself as a special possession. (Other editions read: and You shall give us a special possession.) That is the [same] request of: “Then I and Your people will be distinguished” (Exod. 33:16), [meaning] that the Shechinah should not rest upon the pagan nations.

10And He said: "Behold! I will form a covenant; in the presence of all your people, I will make distinctions such as have not been created upon all the earth and among all the nations, and all the people in whose midst you are shall see the work of the Lord how awe inspiring it is that which I will perform with you.

in the presence of all your people, I will make distinctions: Heb. נִפְלָאֹת אֶעֱשִֶׂה, an expression related to וְנִפְלִינוּ, “and [we] shall be distinguished” (Exod. 33:16), [meaning] that you shall be separated from all the pagan nations, that My Shechinah shall not rest upon them [these other nations].

the Amorites…: Six nations are [enumerated] here [not the proverbial seven], because the Girgashites [i.e., the seventh nation] got up and emigrated because of them [the Israelites]. -[from Lev. Rabbah 17:6, Yerushalmi Shevi ith 6:1.]

את האמרי וגו': שש אומות יש כאן, כי הגרגשי עמד ופנה מפניהם:

12Beware lest you form a covenant with the inhabitant[s] of the land into which you are coming, lest it become a snare in your midst.

Whose Name is “Jealous One”: He is zealous to mete out retribution, and He is not indulgent. That is [the meaning of] every expression of jealousy (קִנְאָה) [when used in connection with God]. [It] means that He is steadfast in His superiority [over other deities] and exacts retribution upon those who forsake Him.

15Lest you form a covenant with the inhabitant[s] of the land, and they [the gentiles] go astray after their gods, and they offer sacrifices to their gods, and they invite you, and you eat of their slaughtering,

and you eat of their slaughtering: You [may] think that there is no punishment for eating it, but [when you eat it] I consider it for you as if you endorsed its worship, for through this [eating of the sacrifice] you will come to take from their daughters for your sons.

18The Festival of Unleavened Cakes you shall keep; seven days you shall eat unleavened cakes which I have commanded you, at the appointed meeting time of the month of spring, for in the month of spring you went out of Egypt.

and all your livestock [that] bears a male…: Heb. תִּזָּכָר. And all your livestock that bears a [firstborn] male by the emergence of an ox or lamb [from the womb], meaning that a male will open its womb [i.e., its firstborn is a male].

emergence: Heb. פֶּטֶר, a word that means opening. Similarly, “The beginning of strife is like letting out (פּוֹטֵר) water” (Prov. 17:14). The “tav” of תִּזָּכָר is an expression of the feminine, referring to the [animal] that gives birth.

20And a firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; if you do not redeem it, you shall decapitate it; every firstborn of your sons you shall redeem, and they shall not appear before Me empty handed.

And a firstborn donkey: But not [the firstborn of] other unclean animals. -[from Bech. 5b]

ופטר חמור: ולא שאר בהמה טמאה:

you shall redeem with a lamb: [The owner] gives a lamb to the kohen, and it [becomes] the ordinary [unconsecrated] property of the kohen, and the firstborn donkey may be put to work by its owner. -[from Bech. 9b]

you shall decapitate it: He decapitates it with a cleaver. [The rationale is:] He caused the kohen to lose his money [by neglecting to give him the redemption lamb]. Therefore, he must lose his own money [by decapitating his donkey]. -[from Bech. 10b, Mechilta on Exod. 13:13]

וערפתו: עורפו בקופיץ, הוא הפסיד ממון כהן, לפיכך יופסד ממונו:

every firstborn of your sons you shall redeem: His redemption is established as five selas, as it is said: “And his redemption you shall perform from the age of one month [by the evaluation of five shekels, etc.]” (Num. 18:16).

and they shall not appear before Me empty-handed: According to the simple meaning of the verse, this is a separate matter [from the rest of this verse] and is unrelated to the firstborn, because there is no obligation to appear [in the Temple] in the commandment dealing with the firstborn. Instead this is another warning, [meaning] and when you ascend [to the Temple] on the festivals, you shall not appear before Me empty-handed, [but] it is incumbent upon you to bring burnt offerings (Chag. 7a) whenever appearing before God. According to the way it is interpreted by a Baraitha, this is a superfluous verse [for this was already stated in Exod. 23:15], and it is free [i.e., has no additional reason for being here other than] to be used for a גְּזֵרָה שָׁוָה, [i.e.,] an instance of similar wording, to teach [us] about the provisions given a Hebrew slave [when he is freed]-that it is five selas from each kind [i.e., of sheep, grain, and wine], as much as the redemption of a firstborn. [This is elaborated upon] in tractate Kiddushin (17a).

in plowing and in harvest you shall rest: [If this refers to the Sabbath,] why are plowing and harvest mentioned [in particular, and not other kinds of work]? Some of our Rabbis say that this [verse prohibits] plowing before the seventh year [i.e., the sixth year] which enters the seventh year [i.e., plowing that benefits crops that grow in the seventh year], and the harvest of the seventh year that grows after the seventh year [i.e., crops that have at least one third of their growth during the seventh year must be treated with the sanctity of the seventh year]. This is to teach you that we must add from the unholy [the year preceding the seventh year] to the holy [the seventh year]. Accordingly, this is its meaning: “Six days you may work, and on the seventh day you shall rest” -and [concerning] the work of the six days, which I have permitted you, there is a year in which plowing and harvest are prohibited. The plowing and harvest of the seventh year need not be stated, because it already says: “Your field you shall not sow…” (Lev. 25:4). [Consequently, we deduce that this verse means the plowing before the seventh year and the harvest after the seventh year.] Others [of the Rabbis] say that [the verse] speaks only about the [weekly] Sabbath, and the plowing and harvest mentioned in its context are to inform you that just as [the prohibited] plowing is optional [plowing], so is harvest [referred to here] optional [harvesting]. The harvest of the omer [however] is excluded [from this prohibition] because it is mandatory, and [consequently] it supersedes the Sabbath. -[from R.H. 9a]

and the festival of the ingathering: Heb. וְחַג הָאָָסִיף, [which occurs] at the time you gather your grain from the field into the house. This gathering (אִסִיפָה) is a term denoting bringing into the house, like “you shall take it (וַאִסַפְתּוֹ) into your house” (Deut. 22:2).

all your male[s]: Heb. כָּל זְכוּרְ, all the males among you. [This is repeated elsewhere as are] many commandments in the Torah, [which] are stated and repeated, many of them three or four times, in order to cause liability and mete out punishment according to the number of the negative commandments they contain and the number of positive commandments they contain.

I drive out: Heb. אוֹרִישׁ as the Targum renders: אִתָרֵ, I will drive out, and so is “begin to drive out (רָשׁ) ” (Deut. 2:31), and so is “and he drove out (וַיוֹרֶשׁ) the Amorites” (Num. 21:32), an expression of driving out.

You shall not slaughter…: You shall not slaughter the Passover sacrifice as long as leaven still exists. This is a [specific] warning to the slaughterer, to the one who sprinkles the blood, or to one of the members of the group [bringing this sacrifice]. -[from Pes. 63b]

shall not remain overnight until the morning: As the Targum [Onkelos] paraphrases: [it shall not remain overnight until the morning away from the altar]. Remaining overnight on top of the altar has no effect [i.e., does not disqualify the sacrifice] (Mechilta, Exodus 23:18), and [the prohibition of] staying overnight is only completed at the break of dawn (Zev. 87a).

and the offering of the Passover feast: [This refers to] its sacrificial parts. From here you learn [to apply this rule to all instances of] burning the fats or the limbs [of sacrifices, namely that it may not be performed after the break of dawn if the sacrificial parts stayed off the altar all night until the break of dawn].

זבח חג הפסח: אימוריו, ומכאן אתה למד לכל הקטר חלבים ואברים:

26The choicest of the first of your soil you shall bring to the house of the Lord, your God. You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk."

The choicest of the first of your soil: [This refers to the fruits] of the seven species delineated as the praise of your land, “A land of wheat and barley, vines, [figs, and pomegranates, a land of oil-producing olives,] and honey” (Deut. 8:8). That is the honey of dates. -[from Bikkurim 3:1]

You shall not cook a kid: This is the warning against [cooking] meat and milk [together]. This commandment is written in the Torah three times (Exod. 23:19, Deut. 14:21), one for eating, one for deriving benefit, and one for the prohibition of cooking. -[from Chul. 115b]

a kid: Heb. גְּדִי. Any young offspring is meant, even a calf or a lamb. Since [the Torah] had to specify in many places גְּדִי עִזִּים [when a young goat is meant], you learn that [mention of] גְּדִי unqualified means all sucklings. -[from Chul. 113b]

29And it came to pass when Moses descended from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand when he descended from the mountain and Moses did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while He had spoken with him

And it came to pass when Moses descended: when he brought the latter [second] tablets on Yom Kippur.

ויהי ברדת משה: כשהביא לוחות אחרונות ביום הכפורים:

that… had become radiant: Heb. קָרַן, an expression meaning horns (קַרְנַיִם) because light radiates and protrudes like a type of horn. From where did Moses [now] merit these rays of splendor [which he did not have when he descended with the first tablets (Gur Aryeh)]? Our Rabbis said: [Moses received it] from the cave, when the Holy One, blessed is He, placed His hand on his face, as it is said: “and I will cover you with My hand” (Exod. 33:22). -[from Midrash Tanchuma 37]

and they were afraid to come near him: Come and see how great the power of sin is! Because when they had not yet stretched out their hands to sin [with the golden calf], what does He say? “And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exod. 24:17), and they were neither frightened nor quaking. But since they had made the calf, even from Moses’ rays of splendor they recoiled and quaked. [from Sifrei Nasso 11, Pesikta d’Rav Kahana, p. 45]

Afterwards… would draw near: After he taught the elders, he would repeat and teach the chapter or the halachah to the Israelites. The Rabbis taught: What was the order of teaching? Moses would learn from the mouth of Almighty. Aaron would enter, and Moses would teach him his chapter. Aaron would move away and sit at Moses’ left. His [Aaron’s] sons would enter, and Moses would teach them their chapter. They would move away, and Eleazar would sit at Moses’ right and Ithamar would sit at Aaron’s left. [Then] the elders would enter, and Moses would teach them their chapter. The elders would move away and sit down on the sides. [Then] the entire nation would enter, and Moses would teach them their chapter. Thus, the entire nation possessed one [lesson from Moses], the elders possessed two, Aaron’s sons possessed three, Aaron possessed four, etc., as is stated in Eruvin (54b).

he placed a covering over his face: Heb. מַסְוֶה, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: בֵּיתאַפֵּי. [מַסְוֶה] is an Aramaic expression. In the Talmud (Keth. 62b) [we read]: לִבָּהּ סָוֵי, her heart saw, and also in [tractate] Kethuboth (60a): יְהַוָה קָא מַסְוֶה לְאַפָּה an expression meaning “looking.” He [the nursing infant] was looking at her [his mother]. Here too, מַסְוֶה is a garment placed in front of the face and a covering over the eyes. In honor of the rays of splendor, so that no one would derive pleasure from them, he [Moses] would place the covering in front of them [his eyes] and remove it when he spoke with the Israelites, and when the Omnipresent spoke to him until he left. When he would leave, he would leave without the covering.

and speak to the children of Israel: And they would see the rays of splendor on his face, and when he would leave them.

ודבר אל בני ישראל: וראו קרני ההוד בפניו. וכשהוא מסתלק מהם:

35Then the children of Israel would see Moses' face, that the skin of Moses' face had become radiant, and [then] Moses would replace the covering over his face until he would come [again] to speak with Him.